Prince Albert candidly opens up about his twins' future roles and ‘independent women’ in his family

Growing up as a young Prince in Monaco, Prince Albert sensed that his family was different from others. In the newly released book, Albert de Monaco: L’homme et le prince(Albert II of Monaco, The Man and The Prince), Grace Kelly’s son confessed that there are things he wishes he could have experienced during his teenage years, but didn’t venture to try because of his title. “I asked myself: ‘Do I really want to do that?’ Yes of course. But I do not think I wanted to disappoint anyone, my parents, or my family,” he shared. “Even though I have had the chance to do many things in my life — on limited time periods, I concede — I would have liked to try different experiences, explore the world even more, live others adventures. And have the opportunity to practice another profession.”

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Prince Albert is the son of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco Photo: Michel Dufour/WireImage

One day, the 60-year-old royal and wife Princess Charlene’s son Prince Jacques, three, will ascend the Monegasquethrone and when the time comes, Albert wants to make sure his heir is ready. The Monaco royal explained, “I will try to give [Jacques] good advice. What is important — and I am convinced that I should have done so much more diligently when I was young — is that he gets to know our institutions fairly early and how the government and the different administrations work. That he also gets to know the people in place, even if they will probably have been replaced by others when he is of age. It is essential that he gets to know Monaco from the inside."

To best prepare Jacques for the pressures that one day await him, Albert plans on having his son accompany him on engagements and even replace him on certain occasions. The doting father also intends to so the same with Jacque’s twin sister Princess Gabriella. Albert said, “She is not the heir to the throne, but she too will have her part of the job to do. My sisters [Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie] do a lot of things, a day will come when they will necessarily be less present, less active. And where someone else will have to assume their responsibilities.”

When it comes to his twins, Albert noted, “The way a father protects his daughter is probably not quite the same. However, I am very careful never to make any difference between twins, it is very important, especially at their age.” He added, “I devote so much time to each other, the time they spend in my arms, for example, is the same for everyone. I am perfectly honed today, I have almost a stopwatch in my head.”

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The Monaco royal got candid about his life in a new book Photo: Amazon

Aside from his children, Albert also has a close relationship with his nieces and nephews including bride-to-beCharlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline. When asked if his family members have to formally ask for permission to marry like with other royal families, Princess Charlene’s husband revealed, “It’s a little more relaxed. I mean they did, the boys. They talked to me about it before. Charlotte’s a little more independent. I’m used to independent women in our family, so it’s okay.”